


The universe may not always play fair, but at least it’s got a hell of a sense of humor

by yellowjelo



Series: Kori Tian'otha [8]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Blood and Gore, Miqo'te Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Suicide, just be careful when reading this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-21 20:56:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16584038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellowjelo/pseuds/yellowjelo
Summary: Kori can't sleep---The city was beautiful at night. The Ala Mhigan Quarter was lit up by the stars and a few lights from the nightlife below. Kori was perched on the barrier of the royal menagerie watching the people in the city below him carry on with their lives unknowingly and oblivious to the sleepless wanderer staring down at them.





	The universe may not always play fair, but at least it’s got a hell of a sense of humor

The city was beautiful at night. The Ala Mhigan Quarter was lit up by the stars and a few lights from the nightlife below. Kori was perched on the barrier of the royal menagerie watching the people in the city below him carry on with their lives unknowingly and oblivious to the sleepless wanderer staring down at them.

The mountains were beautiful at night. Kori looked past the city towards the peaks. The very tips of those monuments could be seen towering over the clouds. They had all worked very hard, fought very hard, to be able to appreciate the sight. There were some who would never be able to see it again.

The garden was beautiful at night. He could see the work and effort that went into making the flowers shine like they did. They nearly glowed in the moonlight and there was a fleeting moment where he wished he could have seen it in its prime. If only Kori had better memories in this garden. Ones that didn't make him want to vomit.

The universe may not always play fair, but it's got a hell of a sense of humor. After taking everything Zenos had dished out to him. Beating after beating, the twelve saw fit to not give him the satisfaction of ending Zenos once and for all. Instead he was forced to stand and watch as the mad man slit his own throat and watered the flowers with his blood. The coward.

Kori took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose as the memory came flooding back to him. He could still taste the iron in the back of his throat, the air had been so thick with the scent of blood. If only he had had the smarts to look away from the scene when it happened. Perhaps then it wouldn't haunt him in his sleep.

He had never been prone to nightmares before. As a child, he had taken pride in the fact he could sleep through the world ending. Not anymore. Between the Echo alerting him to any possible danger and ascians raising primals every other weekend, Kori figured he would never get another night's peaceful sleep. The nightmares were to be expected as well, of course, after all he'd seen and done but they were just as exhausting as a fight and even more infuriating. There were some nightmares that he would wake up from in a cold sweat wishing that he had never been born. Nightmares like Zenos slowly raising his blade up and pressing it against his throbbing jugular…

Kori stood quickly and hopped down off the barrier. He needed to get out of this garden. Why had he even come up here in the first place? He had been hoping that confronting the menagerie again would help him make new memories of it. Help him put that ghost to rest. It was a nice spot to view the city, after all, but even the most fragrant flowers could not get that lingering scent of blood and chaos out of the air. Perhaps the smell was only in his mind but that didn't change the scent.

He stopped walking right in the middle of the flower patch where it all happened. He could almost see Zenos standing there once again with that grin on his face. Ever since defeating his first primal, ever since first discovering the Echo, ever since people started calling him the warrior of light, somewhere in the back of his mind Kori knew that he would be seeing a lot of bloodshed. He tried to box it up and put it away. It wasn’t a thought he liked to linger on. He much preferred thinking about all the lives he saved and touched and people that he helped, and lovers that he met, than the ones he inevitably had to put his blade through. He really needed to get out of this garden.

Kori headed for the exit once more, but not before stopping to pluck a flower from its bed. It would look nice in the garden at his free company’s home. Maybe regrowing the flowers there would help him attach those new memories to this place. Tal was an expert botanist after all and Kori could already picture his large form hunkered over the bed picking the weeds and tending to the flowers. Rua would be sitting by his side, smiling as they watched their sibling work. Coraclaw would be sparring or otherwise training his crafts in the yard not far off. Yes, he could turn this one flower into a brand new garden of memories. Zenos would no longer hold power over him. The vision carried Kori towards the stairs leading back down the the streets.

The alliance had kindly set up a room for him in the city while he was assisting them. It was small and really only held a bed and a desk but it was more than Kori could have ever asked for. People tended to either be frightened of him or treated him like royalty once they discovered who he was. It was something he was always determined to change. He was just a miqo’te boy who had ran away with a longing for adventure. (Years later he realized that his longing had been Hydaelyn calling for him but that too was something he boxed up and put away.) After a few pints of ale, though, people quickly changes their view of him once they realized their precious warrior of light was a very promiscuous idiot.  

He found an empty cup on the desk and filled it with water, carefully putting his flower inside it and setting it on the windowsill so it could bask in the moonlight. Hopefully it would survive until he could get it home.

His armor hit the floor with a dull thud as Kori slowly stripped down to his small clothes in preparation for bed. Tomorrow he was due to meet with Lyse for a follow up of all that had happened. Diplomacy was not his strong suit. Hitting things? Sure. Figuring out what people mean when they’re talking in circles all day? That was Alphinaud’s job. He could fake it and get by when needed but he’d much rather stay silent and just do what he was told to do. Glorified errand boy, that should be his new title.

Kori pulled his hair out of the braid he usually kept it in, running his fingers lightly through the violet locks. He was going to need to find a shower soon. After all the fighting recently he was certain he left a stench where ever he went, perhaps a dip in the waters of Rhaglr’s Reach would suffice for now.

He dragged the light covers over himself as he curled up in the bed. Tomorrow would be another day with new quests and new beasts to kill. Once Ala Mhigo was free from garlean rule, perhaps then he would take a break. For now though, Kori’s breathing evened out as he closed his eyes, he needed to try and get as much sleep as he could. He was going to need it.


End file.
